2007 Small Matters: Microbes and Their Role in Conservation

Microscopic organisms – including viruses, bacteria, archaea, and single-celled eukaryotic organisms – comprise the vast majority of life on the planet, yet startlingly little is known about their true diversity and the multitudinous roles they play in the ecosphere. The knowledge that we do have tends to come from either those organisms that can be cultured in the laboratory or those that make us or other organisms sick. However, the revolution of using DNA sequences to discover and describe microbial diversity has drastically altered our view of the microbial world and its players. Now, new biochemical processes, including new forms of photosynthesis and even electricity-generating bacteria are being discovered as culture independent and broader explorations into new habitats are performed. Yet at the same time that we begin to uncover ne hidden potential benefits or micro-organisms, the news is also replete with stories of so-called emergent diseases that threaten human and other organisms on the planet.

Small Matters: Microbes and Their Role in Conservation brought together scientists from the traditionally disparate fields or microbiology and conservation, including biogeochemists, marine microbiologists, disease ecologists, and microbial systemists, as well as conservation practitioners, wildlife managers, policy makers educators, students, and the general public to explore this intersection of two fields that, until now, had not been considered in depth. Several broad questions were addressed including: How much microbial diversity is there on the planet? How does this diversity affect other organisms, both positively and negatively? How should conservation practices take microbial life into account?

"Small Matters: Microbes and Their Role in Conservation" was sponsored by the American Museum of Natural History’s Center for Biodiversity and Conservation, with support from the National Science Foundation, the Mack Lipkin Man and Nature Series, and the Joseph and Joan Cullman Conservation Foundation, Inc. Additional support was provided by the Wildlife Conservation Society.

AGENDA

DAY ONETHURSDAY, APRIL 26, 2007

9:00 OPENING REMARKSEllen V. Futter, President, American Museum of Natural Historyand Michael J. Novacek, Senior Vice President and Provost of Science, American Museum of Natural History

9:00 SESSION ISTANDING ON THE SHOULDERS OF THE TINY: DETECTING AND DESCRIBING MICROBIAL DIVERSITY

5:00 THE MACK LIPKIN MAN AND NATURE SERIES RECEPTION AND POSTER SESSIONHall of Northwest Coast Indians

7:00 2007 Mack Lipkin Man and Nature Series Panel DiscussionSAVE THE MICROBES, SAVE THE WORLD: THE FATE OF MICROBIAL LIFE ON A CHANGING PLANET
LeFrak TheaterFREE ADMISSION

Moderator: Julie Burstein, Public Radio International and WNYC Radio
Panelists:Rita Colwell, Distinguished University Professor, University of Maryland College Park and Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health, and Chairman, Canon US Life Sciences, Inc.James Staley, Professor of Microbiology at the University of WashingtonSusan Perkins, (Symposium Content Coordinator) Assistant Curator, Invertebrate Zoology and Sackler Institute for Comparative Genomics, American Museum of Natural History

DAY TWOFRIDAY, APRIL 27, 2007

9:00 SESSION IIICAN'T LIVE WITHOUT 'EM? THE ROLE OF MICROBES IN THE SUSTAINABILITY OF LIFE ON EARTH

Moderator: George Amato, Director, Sackler Institute for Comparative Genomics, American Museum of Natural History

Panelists:Durland Fish, Professor of Epidemiology, School of Public Health, and Director, Center for EcoEpidemiology, Yale School of MedicineJessica L. Green, Assistant Professor, Yale School of Natural Sciences, University of California, MercedMichele K. Nishiguchi, Associate Professor of Evolutionary Biology, Department of Biology, New Mexico State UniversityPaul Turner, Associate Professor of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Yale UniversityBess B. Ward, Chair, Department of Geosciences and William J. Sinclair Professor of Geosciences, Princeton University